Charting the life path of Beau Dick, the great Kwakwaka’wakw artist, is no mean navigational feat. The master carver, best known internationally for his traditional and fantastical masks is the subject of the documentary, ‘Maker of Monsters: The Extraordinary Life of Beau Dick‘. The film reveals the artist as teacher, mentor, community leader, political activist, and above all spiritual warrior living within and between multitudinous worlds.

Natalie Boll is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has garnered accolades in this country and abroad. She and collaborator, LaTiesha Fazakas wrote, produced, directed, and are now distributing the film that most recently featured at both the Victoria International and Salt Spring Island Film Festivals.

Natalie Boll in the first half.

And; teevee news viewers can be forgiven their collective mal de mer; tossed as they are from issue to issue with hardly a contextual handrail to hold on to. It’s little wonder then retching seems the only sensible reaction. But is there more behind the sick-making spectacle? Could it all be designed to keep the head spinning, and belly threatening imminent eruption?

Consider Russia coverage: Badgered by a year of conspiracy theories about elections meddling and other unsubstantiated rumours, viewers may feel disoriented when Vladimir Putin’s declaration of a new atomic and next-gen tech. weaponry era, (and entirely unveiled promises to use those weapons should NATO continue its undeclared war against his country) rates a media yawn.

Roger Annis is a longtime socialist and trade union activist whose social justice and peace articles appear at his website, A Socialist in Canada. The site is a daily notifier on World News, and features both Canadian and Ecology news rolls.

Roger Annis and a barely noticed New Cold War escalation in the second half.

And; Victoria-based greentrepreneur and horticulturalist extraordinaire, Christina Nikolic will be here at the bottom of the hour with the Left Coast Events Bulletin, bringing us up to speed with some of the good things going on in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Natalie Boll and the extraordinary life of Beau Dick, Maker of Monsters.